[Source: Reuters]

Florida prepared for its largest evacuation since 2017 as Hurricane Milton intensified in the Gulf of Mexico on its path toward the U.S. state’s western coast, coming on the heels of the devastating Hurricane Helene.

Milton, which strengthened from a tropical storm to hurricane on Sunday, was projected to make landfall on Wednesday morning, most likely hitting near the heavily populated Tampa Bay area, the Miami-based U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

The new hurricane has the potential to affect areas already hit hard by Helene, which made landfall further north on the coast on Sept. 26.

Kevin Guthrie, director of Florida’s emergency management division, urged people to prepare for the “largest evacuation that we have seen most likely since 2017 Hurricane Irma.”

“I highly encourage you to evacuate,” Guthrie told Floridians in a press conference.

Milton was located about 805 miles (1,295 km) west-southwest of Tampa as of 5 p.m. EDT (2100 GMT) on Sunday, packing maximum sustained winds of 85 mph (140 km), the National Hurricane Center said.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis warned of a potentially higher storm surge and more power outages from Milton compared to Helene, and said destruction from Helene could be compounded.

“There are some areas with a lot of debris that is there, so if you get hit with a major hurricane, what’s going to happen to that debris? It’s going to increase the damage dramatically,” DeSantis said.

“This is all hands on deck to get that debris where it needs to be.”

Anna Maria, an island city of 825 people at the mouth of Tampa Bay, announced a mandatory evacuation as of midday on Monday.

Mexico issued a hurricane watch for the north coast of the Yucatán Peninsula, the center added.

In the United States, North Carolina, Florida and much of the South were still recovering from the massive destruction caused by Helene, which killed more than 200 people across six states, making it the deadliest named storm to hit the mainland United States since Hurricane Katrina killed nearly 1,400 people in 2005.

U.S. President Joe Biden said on Sunday he ordered another 500 active-duty troops to move into western North Carolina and assist with the Helene response and recovery efforts, increasing the number of military personnel to 1,500.

They join a massive state and local recovery effort plus 7,000 people from the federal workforce and 6,100 National Guard personnel from 12 states who have been deployed to the region, according to the White House.

The Biden administration has approved $137 million in federal assistance and promised more aid would be forthcoming, as the economic damage is projected to soar into the billions of dollars.